Father’s Day weekend and motorsports go hand-in-hand, so it makes sense that while the road racers were focused on a little race in France that lasted 24 hours, there was other motorsports action at hand. For SCCA®, that meant a number of events, one of which was the Tire Rack SCCA Charlotte Solo® National Tour on June 13-15, 2025. There, drivers were having just as much fun as those at Le Mans, but in 60-second increments.
This particular SCCA event was held at zMax Dragway and hosted by Central Carolinas Region, with Nate Brainerd stepping up as event chairperson. Brainerd and his team made sure the event featured warm and dry conditions from start to finish, and the Region-hosted welcome party included some of the best BBQ available (come at them, Texans).
The event even experienced an unofficial crossover from Targa Southland, as two teams showed up later on Friday after their track time was finished for the day. Ray Brake and Keith Davis rolled in, followed by Aditya Madhaven and David Nolan – the latter served as the official guest course test team. Jason Amistadi opened up his design book for successful and challenging courses (in particular, Saturday’s course was a treat).
Meanwhile, the SCCA Women on Track initiative continued its support of autocross participants. Sari Miller was on site thanks to the Women on Track scholarship and picked up extra coaching from Ashley Weaver. Miller placed third in B Street Touring®. Stephanie Wells took home the Women on Track Pay it Forward award, which allows her to invite a local driver to a National Solo event at a later date, with that driver receiving a free entry.
Class Competition
A popular site in a popular part of the country means a variety of strong classes at the event, and that included the EV class – with a positive charge of seven cars in Charlotte. Nicholas Ognio powered his way to the front, earning a 1.871sec win over his Tesla Model 3 co-driver Christopher Cann in an electrified battle.
A Street was tight throughout the weekend, with Dan Ireland making a comeback to top Nick Lindsay. Lindsay’s Corvette led the opening day, but Ireland fought back for a 0.174sec win at the end of the weekend.
The Ladies Street Tire Bump index continues to be popular at Tour events. Stephanie Wells wedged her way between co-drivers to finish second, just behind Jennifer Bedell but ahead of Chris Peterson. Bedell and Peterson drove their B Street Supras, while Wells was in her Solo Spec Coupe Scion FR-S.
Speaking of Solo Spec Coupe, co-drivers Chip Manuel and Jacob Cloninger must have been comparing notes throughout the weekend. Manuel was quicker on Saturday, but Cloninger came flying back on Sunday. At the end, just 0.016sec separated the two at the front of the class field.
Save for Ladies Street Bump, no one had more in their class than A Street Touring. Will Teller’s Mazda MX-5 topped the 13-car class, besting Chris Harp by 0.796sec.
Want to see how the rest of the action unfolded? The class results tell all…
Up Next
The next time Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour competitors get together will be at the Bristol double on Independence Day weekend. The July 4 celebration will feature two days of Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo ® Series action followed by two days of the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour.
There’s still time to attend.
Register: Bristol Solo Nat Tour Register: Bristol ProSolo
Photos by Alan Claffie
